Brake-locking device.



No. 685,840. Patented Nov. 5, I90l. W. G. HOUK.

' BRAKE LOCKING DEVICE.

' I (Application filed. Apr. 4, 1901.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet I.

No. 685,840. Patented Nov. 5, 190i.

w. a. HOUK.

BRAKE LOCKING DEVICE (Application filed. Apr. 4, 1901.)

(No Model.) z Sheets-Sheet 2.

m: konms PETERS o0, worouwc" wnswusron, a. c,

UNITED STATES PATENT CEEIQE.

'WILBUR G. HOUK, OF ORAWFORDSVILLE, INDIANA.

BRAKE-LOCKING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 685,840, dated November 5, 190]. Application filed April 4, 1901. Serial No. 54,381. (No model.)

To all whom it 72mg] concern:

Be it known that LWILBUR G. HOUK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Crawfordsville, in the county of Montgomery and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in 'Wagon and other Vehicle Brakes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a clear, full, and exact descrip tion of the same.

My invention relates to looking devices for wagon and other vehicle brakes, the object being to provide on the gear of the wagon or vehide a simple and practical locking contrivance for the brakes of wagons and other vehicles; and it therefore consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts substantially as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the annexed drawings,illustratin g my invention, Figure 1 is a skeleton view of the rear part of a wagon-gear with the parts of an ordinary wagon-brake as it iscommonly used provided with my brake-locking device, the parts of the same being in a locked position. Fig. 2 is a similar view of a wagon gear and brake provided with my improvement in an unlocked position. Figs. 3, 4, and 5 represent the separate parts of my invention.

Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout all the different figures of the drawings.

A designates an ordinary brake-roller suit ably attached to the gear of awagon, said roller being provided with a short arm a, which is pivotally connected with rod B. 'T he other end of rod B is connected to a swinging brake beam 0, which carries the shoes 0 and c, adapted to operate against the wheels D and D, all beingused as an example merely to illustrate the practical application of my improvement.

E designates a flat vertical arm with its lower end rigidly secured to brake-roller A. This arm E is provided near its lower end with a diagonal slot 6, with lower end pointing to the left or rear of armE. Said arm has near its upper end a vertical slot 6, corresponding in length to slot 6. The upper end of arm E is convex, so as to fit the under concave edge of segment F. This segment F is fastened rigidly to the gear of wagon, preferably to rear holster G, by means of bolting through flange f on rear end of segment F. Said segment F extends forward between parallel parts 7t and 7c of brake-lever H, with under edge of segment resting on top couvexed end of vertical arm E. The front portion of upper edge of segment F is provided with cog-shaped teeth 7, angling to the right or forward, with the upper end of teeth convexed and spaces between them concaved. The rear portion of upper edge of segment F is provided with a recessf.

H designatesa vertical brake-lever construoted of two parallel parts is and 71",, provided near its upper end with two horizontal lever-rings h and h, with projections h and h, which are inserted between the two parallel parts 7c and It, so as to bring the rear outer part of rings h and 72. to bear against front edge of parts and 70, all of which are firmly riveted through and held in. place by,

rivets 'i and 2'. The lower ends. of said parallel parts k and 7c of brake-lever-H extend down on each side of segment F and vertical arm E and are secured to the latter by means of bolts 2" and 1;, extending through slots e and e in vertical arm E in a manner that pivots brake-lever H to arm E at slot 6, thereby allowingboth ends of brake-lever Hto oscillate back and forth and at the same time having an up-anddown movement relative thereto, governed by the corresponding lengths of slots 6 and'e in arm E.

J designates a pawl pivoted to and swinging loosely between the parts A; and 7c of brake-lever H in the space just above segment F. The lower end of pawl J is forked, having ananterior prong j, con vexed to fit in succession with the concaved spaces between the teeth f on top edge of segment F; also, a posterior prongj of sufficient length to form, in connection with anterior prongj, a conoaved space between prongsj andj, so as to fit any one of the upper convexed ends of teeth f on top edge of segment B when my device is being unlocked. It will be thus,

clearly seen that in order to look a vehiclebrake with my improved brake-locking device itis necessary to move the top end of brake-lever H forward,which being pivoted to arm E at slot e forces the lower end of brakelever H backward and to the lower ends of slots eand e',t-hereby placinglower end of pawl J into recess f", ready to engage alternately with teeth f as brake-lever His moved farther forward along segment F. At the same time the convexed top end of arm E traces the under concaved edge of segment F, thereby, in connection with parallel parts and I of brake-lever H, reinforcing segment F ,making it absolutely secure for pressure of pawl J as it engages in succession with teeth f along pawl J engaging'at corresponding angles with teeth f, as provided,thus holding upper-end of brake-lever H in front of pivotal bearing of said brake-lever at slot 6', at the same time holding the lower end of brake-lever H to the rear of said pivotal point 6. It willbe further observed that with the parts of my device placed in this locked position the common center of the two extreme points of re sistance-namely, upper end of pawl J and shoes 0 and c-falls in front of and below the pivotal point eof brake-lever H, thus makin g it im possible for my improved brake-locking device to become unlocked, as shown in Fig. 1, except by applying suifici'ent power to the top end of brake-lever H to force it I back or tothe left, as shown in Fig. 2. When it is desired to unlock my device and release the brake, it isdone by forcing the upper end of brake-lever H back or to the left. I In so doing pawl J, with its forked 'concaved' end fitting over the upper couvexed end of whatever tooth on top of segment F it may be en v gaged'with, answers as a fulcrum to disengage anteriorprongjand to raise the-brakeleverH-to-the highest points of slots e ande,

at which point pawl J is reversed, as shown in Fig. 2, and carried back with brake-lever H and arm E to swing'in recess f, thereby releasing brake and being ready to engage with teethf' whenever brake-lever l-I is again pulled forward. V

I call attention to the fact that inasmuch as my deviceis placed on thegear-of wagon or vehicle and that it canbe locked at any and all times by simply thrusting brake-lever forward and unlocked by'thrusting it back-5 ward, which is susceptibleof beingdone by so many different modes, depending -'on.the kindof a load that is being hauled, any other- 1 way to operate my device except by'taking hold of upperend of brake-lever'H, as'is here" shown, or by'inserting a lever intoljever rings h and h,'and thereby operating it, will be'left" to suit the convenience of the operator;

I am aware that prior to my invention claims have been made for self-adj usting lever-and" pawl combinations with segln ent for brake locking devices; but none have covered the ,essential and practical points that I herein claim as my invention and desire tosecure by Letters Patent.

' Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

' I. The herein-described arm, lever, segment, and pawl mechanism for locking and unlocking wagon and other vehicle brakes, which consists essentially of a vertical arm, having near its upper end a vertical and-near its lower end a diagonal slot a pivoted brakelever constructed of twoparallel parts and two horizontal lever-rin gs near its upper end, a cog-toothed, flanged and recessed segment, engaging. and disengaging a forked pawl J, substantially as described.

2. The herein-described locking and uh locking attachment for wagon and other vehicle brakes, consisting of a slotted arm with upper end convexed, and with lower end rigidly secured to a brake-roller, a segment rigidly secured to gear of wagon, or vehicle, so that its under edge will rest on the top convexed end of slotted arm, the front portion of upper edge of said segment, provided with angling, cog-shaped teeth, the upper ends of which are convex, with corresponding concaved spaces between the teeth, with rear portion of upper edge of said segment provided with a recess, a vertical pivoted, brakelever constructed of twoparallel parts, provided near its upper end with two horizontal lever-rings, having projections thereon, placed between and securely riveted and connected with parallel parts of brake-clever in the construction vofthe same, with lower end of brake-lever'parts extending down on each side'of said lsegmentand' arm, pivoted to said arm by means of bolts passing through slots therein, a forked pawl pivoted between parallel parts of brake-lever, so that the forked end will engage anddisen gage with teeth and swing in recess on top edgeofsegment, in a inanner substantially asdescribe'd.

3. The combination of arm E rigidly secured -to b rake-rolleriA, 1 the brake lever H constructed 'of ringsfh and h and. parallel partsfk and}; riveted together by means'of rivets i-and 'andj-pivoted to. arm E by bolts t" and/5'} passing through'fsl'ots eande" in arm E, the segment Ffrigidly secured; to. bolster G, with'un'der edge 're'stin'gio'n converted top end of arm E andextending-between parts is and lo of brake-lever H, the 'forke'd' pawlJ pivoted between parts k, and k of'brake-lev'er H, so as to engageand disengage with teeth f'and swing in recess f on top 'edgeof segment- F, substantially as described." I In testimonywhereofIaffix my signature, 1WILBURG. HOUK.

Witness'esr' g p 'J. N. FULLENWIDER,

RANKIN. O. W LKUP. f 

